GREATER NOIDA: Born and raised in Bareilly, Akshay Bhatnagar assisted his grandfather in the garden. After leaving home for education and a profession, he was unable to realise his lifelong dream of cultivating a garden for himself.
When Akshay and his wife moved to Indirapuram, all he could think about was transforming the limited space into a lovely garden. He began planting roses, aloe vera, money plants, and more than 40 other little plants on the balcony of his rented apartment.
Five years ago, this computer professional and his family relocated to Greater Noida. This gave him additional space to establish a garden.
“After spending weeks or months working in the city, most of us enjoy escaping for a few days to resorts or farm stays surrounded by countryside,” he continues.
“The objective is to gain some fresh air and peace. How many of us, though, have contemplated changing our own living space into something comparable? Akshay said.
Aksay’s apartment in Noida is on the ground floor and is 500 square feet in size. He proceeded to cultivate trees here and filled the entire residence with potted plants.
“Approximately thirty garden pots were transported from the previous apartment. I concentrated on establishing fruit trees, vegetables, and flowering plants. Here, seasonal vegetables and fruits are planted, including carrots, cherry tomatoes, bottle gourd, broccoli, bitter gourd, and okra, in addition to melons, cherries, lemons, grapes, and oranges. I also invest time in microgreens cultivation “The city gardener discloses.
The most recent addition to his garden is exotic plants. There are various varieties of monstera and fifteen varieties of snake plants in the home garden. Additionally, the highly rare Monstera Peru is grown here. In addition, thirteen varieties of Syngonium, frequently regarded as the best houseplant, can be found here.
If you love plants, you will find time to care for them despite your busy schedule, according to Akshay. Additionally, it does not take much time to treat them everyday. Even if you are really busy with work and other responsibilities, it is possible to install self-watering systems. After that, weekly garden maintenance requires only two to three hours.
At 6.30 a.m., before heading for work, Akshay wateres his plants. When he arrives home at 5:30 p.m., he walks his dog and inspects his garden.
Compost is my principal source of plant nutrition. A month is required to convert moist kitchen garbage and dry leaves into compost manure. Approximately 75 percent of household waste gets composted in this manner. “It performs exceptionally well as plant fertiliser,” he says.
In addition to tending to his garden, Akshay shares gardening tips with fellow gardeners through his Instagram feed and a WhatsApp group.